Like glue and lacquer, dry kindling meeting fierce fire, inseparable as shadows, harmonious as qin and se, tender affection and honeyed sentiment… All the most sickeningly sweet words in the world still couldn’t adequately describe the sickeningly sweet behavior between Second Sister and Kongshu. Every time I saw them chasing each other around Zichao Palace like playful mandarin ducks in water, every time I heard Kongshu’s clear calls and Second Sister’s charming laughter, I had the illusion that this was Second Sister’s first time falling in love.

Second Sister was someone who wore her heart on her sleeve. Even when handling state affairs, she could hardly avoid being influenced by her partner. So initially, I was somewhat worried that Kongshu would be like Lord Kaixuan—a beautiful disaster bringing chaos to the court and harm to the nation. I was prepared to eliminate another threat to the country at any moment. Later, I discovered he was a good man who followed the three obediences and four virtues, properly devoted to Second Sister without ever interfering in political matters.

Thinking of this, I felt much more at ease. Seeing Second Sister so happy, I also felt quite comforted. While she was busy handling the major events of her life, I was busy helping her handle government affairs.

One afternoon, my brother came to visit me again. He happened to find me reviewing documents in Second Sister’s bedchamber and said, “Weiwei, you’ve been working day and night lately, almost exhausting yourself. Why don’t you come back to Tianshi City with me? I’ll take you to relax.”

“No. I’m busy,” I replied decisively.

“You’re getting bold now. You even dare to disobey your brother?”

Actually, hearing mention of Tianshi City inevitably made me feel nostalgic. The immortal realm had jade terraces and crystal chambers, divine fairy lands, exotic beasts and strange flowers, hosts of ascending immortals—all things absolutely unseen in Suozhao. Tianshi City also had water-blue skies, the Fahua Cherry Plains, White Emperor Valley, Pagoda Star Sea… At the mention of Pagoda Star Sea, my heart couldn’t help but tighten.

I gripped my brush tightly and said casually, “Is Master in Tianshi City?” Deep down, I truly didn’t want to face that person.

Fu Chenzhi said, “He hasn’t been there these past few days. He seems to have returned to the divine realm.”

For some reason, I felt relieved, though also with a shallow sense of regret. I said, “Then I’ll go with you to have a look.”

“So you were afraid of Master. Don’t worry, we just won’t go to Cangying Gate.”

My brother cast a spell and drew out his sword. The precious blade spun neatly several times in the air before sliding under his feet for him to command. He extended his hand to me, indicating I should get on. I hesitated for a moment, then smiled and tossed my brush aside, flying to his back and grabbing his belt.

Then he cast another spell, and with a “whoosh,” he carried me on his sword into the high sky. Wild wind accompanied by mist rushed toward us, blowing our long hair into tangled grass. My jade earrings beat against my cheeks painfully, and the flying speed was astonishingly fast. In the blink of an eye, the great desert and barren mountains became tiny piles of stones, and Suozhao became a thin sheet of stone. After another moment, all of this had disappeared from view, and we entered the borders of the immortal realm.

Around us, white birds flew in flocks, immortal cranes in formations, and occasionally passing phoenixes moved proudly, disappearing at the horizon in the blink of an eye.

I said, “Brother, your sword-riding technique is truly extraordinary. Thinking back to childhood, the royal children of Suozhao used to like bullying you, laughing that you couldn’t perform Daoist arts. If we could return to childhood now, it would slap their faces hard.”

Fu Chenzhi said, “I have no interest in slapping their faces.”

“Why?”

“Back then, my eyes could only hold one person. I didn’t care how others looked at me or what they thought.”

He answered so easily, but I was too embarrassed to speak. Over all these years, I hadn’t been blind to his genuine feelings for me. I truly liked this elder brother too, but I could never give him the response he wanted.

He seemed to notice my discomfort and accelerated his sword flight, carrying me toward the higher, more distant sky. I was startled and quickly spread both arms to hug his waist.

He said, “If I didn’t do this, you’d probably become distant from me.”

I couldn’t see his expression and couldn’t guess what he was thinking.

I only heard him continue, “Weiwei, you don’t need to worry. No matter what happens, I’ll stay with you. Whether you inherit Suozhao or marry someone, it won’t affect me one bit.”

“Really? You’ll always stay by my side?”

“Of course.”

“You can’t go back on your word like Father did. He said he’d always stay by our side but didn’t keep his promise.”

“Brother is an immortal—are you still worried about my lifespan?”

“Then… if I…”

“Even if you marry, it doesn’t matter.” My brother truly understood me best, immediately guessing what I was about to say. “No matter who you like, you must bring them to me for approval. As long as they treat you well and love you enough, I’ll be even happier than you and wholeheartedly bless you.”

That “I” he used when referring to himself as my elder brother, which used to make me secretly laugh, now made my heart ache. I hugged him tightly, burying my face in his back. “Brother… thank you…”

“My little sister has reached marriageable age, too. Time passes so quickly.”

My brother sighed lightly, seeming to want to say more, but didn’t continue. I wanted to comfort him by saying “I haven’t found anyone suitable yet,” but couldn’t bring myself to speak. Thinking of how quickly I’d fallen into romance before, if Second Sister hadn’t appeared, things between Kongshu and me would probably have been a sure thing. No one could guarantee when I might meet the next person.

Later, we entered the Azure Dragon Heaven, passing over the Fahua Cherry Plains. The cherry blossoms here bloomed in all four seasons and didn’t fall for a hundred years. Even in winter, there was a beautiful scene of cherry blossoms and snow dancing together. I quickly patted my brother’s shoulder, indicating he should stop here. Then we sat down to rest under a cherry tree.

Shortly after sitting down, I began to regret it. Years ago, my brother had kissed me at this very place. How could I have forgotten such a thing?

Thinking of this, I felt even more uncomfortable all over. I stood up, cleared my throat, and said, “I’ll go wander around where there are more people. I’ll be back soon.”

“Mm, okay.” I saw my brother lower his long eyelashes, also seeming uneasy.

I jogged for a while through the cherry plains, encountering quite a few troublesome incidents. There were more and more “corpses” staring at me, many of them frantically trying to get me to take them away, using all sorts of strange tricks. Some even used magic to hang my hair from flower branches.

Finally escaping these people, I hid near the cloud and mist area, where I saw several fairy maidens slip out with secretive, delighted expressions. One said excitedly, “Did you see? Those men on Star Sea Rock seem to be from the divine realm…”

“Yes, yes! They released such a huge dragon. I’ve never seen such a big dragon in my life.”

As they spoke, they looked toward Star Sea Rock. The cherry blossoms there were particularly luxuriant, blocking most of the solitary figure standing there. Star Sea Rock was an extension of the Fahua Cherry Plains, directly facing a corner of the Pagoda Star Sea, hence its name.

At this moment, it was noon with warm breezes for ten li and nine-heaven cloud mist. The stars weren’t as bright as at night, but the Milky Way’s light created its splendor even in the morning sun. The sound of flutes and drums came from the clouds, with painted boats returning. Seeing those figures standing there, my heart couldn’t help but race as I supported myself on flower branches and quietly walked over.

Then a male voice, respectful yet slightly playful, rang out: “Two years ago, a spirit person died drunk in the Fahua Cherry Plains and once wrote a line of poetry: ‘Break red cherry branches for wine money, year after year drunk beside the flowers.’ Since then, immortals living in other cities have also come to the Fahua Cherry Plains seeking fame. I don’t approve of such idle pursuits, but the scenery is indeed beautiful.”

This man and another group stood in the back, surrounding the young man in front like stars around the moon. The young man sat in a chair facing the star sea, eyes downcast, holding a bunch of peach blossoms in his hand.

He seemed like someone who loved flowers but was troubled by them, so someone held an umbrella for him, blocking the falling petals.

The umbrella was dark green. When pink flowers fell, it was like remnant snow falling into a deep lake, rippling with soundless sorrow.

Seeing that familiar deep blue robe, I almost burst into tears on the spot. Pushing aside branches and leaves, afraid I was seeing wrong, I didn’t dare blink, holding my breath and only daring to watch from afar. I saw his hand holding the flower branch hanging at his side, with a jade ring decorating his snow-white, slender fingers.

After ten years apart, I could still recognize him immediately. At this moment, my heart was so sensitive I could even hear the sound of flowers blooming.

After struggling for a long time, I decided not to go see him. Because I knew that just seeing his back once, even if I remained lonely for another ten years, I couldn’t remove him from my heart. Let alone hearing him speak or seeing his eyes.

Just as I was about to let go and leave, he spoke: “Ten years without a word, returning to Tianshi City without even saying hello before leaving—truly my good disciple.”

My heart jolted. I quickly walked over and knelt behind him: “This disciple would never dare. I greet Master.”

Yinze said, “How are things in Suozhao?”

“Reporting to Master, Suozhao has weathered its difficulties. Currently, the country is peaceful and prosperous with favorable weather, but there are still many urgent matters requiring governance.”

“Then why did you return today?”

“I merely came to play with my brother…” I thought for a moment and said quietly, “I thought you weren’t here, so I wasn’t prepared to pay my respects to you. Please punish me, Master.”

Yinze snorted and said, “You specifically chose to come when I wasn’t here.”

I quickly kowtowed: “This disciple wouldn’t dare.”

“Forget it. Get up.”

I didn’t dare disobey and immediately stood up. Then an awkward silence fell between us.

Lord Lingyin, behind him, seemed to have something to say the whole time. Seeing this opening, he looked at me intently and said, “Luowei, oh Luowei, how could you grow up to look like this?”

“Ah?” I looked up in confusion. “Like what?”

Yinze waved at the umbrella holder and casually glanced back at me, but also froze for a moment. Now I met his gaze directly. He stood with his back to the light, and after the umbrella holder withdrew the umbrella, cherry blossom petals fell like heavy snow simultaneously on both our shoulders.

I never would have imagined that such an ordinary meeting, such an ordinary exchange of glances, could already break my heart. He looked so young and beautiful. If I were meeting him for the first time, I would take him for a desirable gentleman who made my heart flutter.

But if I looked at him one more time and read the loftiness in his eyes, I would quickly be pulled back to reality.

He was someone I could never touch, no matter how hard I tried, even if I shattered into pieces, perhaps for all eternity.

Lord Lingyin sighed: “Simply a great beauty. Don’t you look at yourself in the mirror? How many fairy maidens in Tianshi City are prettier than you? If you didn’t know your master and were meeting him for the first time today, he would take you in.”

“What nonsense!”

Scolded by Master, Lord Lingyin immediately shut up and said aggrievedly, “I’m telling the truth. Doesn’t the Divine Lord think so too…”

Master naturally didn’t answer. A light breeze lifted my azure-white hair, brushing my cheek. I reached out to push it away, but because I feared his gaze, I quickly hid both hands in my wide sleeves. I had told myself that he and I weren’t from the same world, that I shouldn’t try to fight for anything. But the way he looked at me gave me an overly wishful illusion.

As if during these ten years, his longing had never ceased either.

“You all go down.” Only after everyone had left did he look at me again. “After ten years apart, why have you become so thin?”

At this moment, his tone was no different from before, but this unintentional care revealed through coldness was truly more heartbreaking than being directly shut out.

The vast sky seemed to have phoenix cries, clear and mixed with desolation, shattering branches, and shaking falling flowers. Master’s clothes fluttered in the wind, blue and black overlapping like ocean waves. Yet fallen flowers stained his clothing, stirring empty tears with no one to pity them. My current state of mind was indescribable in joy or sorrow—I could only lament that I realized my feelings for him too late, so that all my emotions had piled up in one place with nowhere to pour them out.

I said, “This disciple hasn’t grown thin. Rather, Master has lost quite a bit of weight.”

He laughed mockingly: “You can remember whether I was fat or thin ten years ago? You can spare me such flattering words.”

“Then how does Master remember this disciple’s appearance from ten years ago?”

His eyes widened slightly as he said coldly, “Still glib-tongued—not changed at all.”

“I’ve made Master laugh at me.”

Actually, with ten seasons having passed, much had changed between us.

If it were the past, I would have followed behind him, calling “Master this, Master that,” pestering him relentlessly, constantly feeding him honeyed words, saying foolish things like wanting to stay by his side forever. But now, even if it killed me, I wouldn’t say another word.

The only thing that truly hadn’t changed was these thousand-li cherry plains and ten-thousand-zhang star sea.

We chatted for a while longer before my brother found us. He stopped before Master, bowed, then said with light breathing, “Weiwei, I thought I’d lost you. So Master has returned.”

“I also happened to run into Master by chance.” Like meeting a savior, I tugged his sleeve and said, “Master should still have matters to attend to. Let’s go first.”

“Does Master have any other instructions?”

Master glanced at my hand pulling Fu Chenzhi’s sleeve, then looked away: “No. You may go.” After speaking, he turned around with his right hand behind his back.

Then my brother carried me again, flying by sword. I looked back at Master below—he remained as unfeeling as ever, never lifting his head to look at us again. It seemed the deep affection I thought I saw in his eyes earlier was just my foolish sentiment.

I gripped my brother’s clothes tightly, feeling like I was about to burst from holding everything in. Even so, I still liked Master very much. Even if he had no feelings for me, I still wholeheartedly wanted to accompany him. But I also couldn’t stay by his side for even a moment longer. I was afraid I would lose control and confess, even throw myself into his arms. If so, I would forever lose even the chance to see him again.

Though I didn’t know when our next meeting would be…

After flying for a while, we passed Bagua Peak. I said, “Brother, can we go back later? I want to go down and look around by myself.”

“Sure, but you can’t delay too long. I’ll come pick you up here in one hour.”

“Good.”

After leaving my brother, I flew by water manipulation, wandering alone above Bagua Peak. There were some immortals practicing immortal arts and swordsmanship there, awakening many old memories. After reminiscing about the past for a long time, I suddenly had the impulse to return to Master’s side. Actually, long ago I had told Master I would return, but after truly leaving, I became increasingly unwilling to face him.

Finally, I understood what I had been avoiding. I was simply afraid that if we spent time together day and night, when emotions ran deep, I would hear news of him marrying a goddess. Just thinking of them being lovey-dovey like Second Sister and Kongshu, even having a bunch of children, nearly drove me mad with jealousy. What was even more terrifying was that their children might not even be grown up before I was already buried in the ground. Would Master still remember me then? I feared that in less than a thousand years, even my name would feel strange to him.

No, I couldn’t be so foolish. I was the little princess of Great Suozhao, the beloved sister of the Flowing Firefly Emperor. As the beautiful princess in the hearts of all the Suozhao people, in Suozhao, I could do whatever I wanted, act tyrannically, beat up whoever I wanted, marry whoever I wanted, and keep hundreds of beautiful men to serve me. No one would dare say “no”—so why return to be a humble “little water spirit”?

Confirming this thought, I felt much more relaxed. Humming a little tune, I stopped by the roadside, preparing to sit and wait for the sunset.

Not long after sitting down, I smelled sulfur smoke. I frowned and sniffed, feeling something was wrong. I slowly stood up and looked around, but except for fragrant grass, immortal flowers, high mountains, and rocky peaks, I saw nothing. I turned around in confusion, only to see a red mass approaching in the distance, like a burning red cloud being swept along by a gale.

I squinted and saw it was a ball of fire! The closer it got, the stronger the choking sulfur smell became! Compared to the nearby mountain cliffs, its size was frighteningly large. What was this thing… why did I have such an ominous premonition? My subconscious told me to retreat, wanting to fly up by water manipulation.

A ball of flame flew from that red mass. I heard a “hiss” sound as it turned the spring water near me into steam! I ran for my life, but after only two steps, the sulfur smell descended from the sky along with a mountain-sized ball of flame that crashed thunderously in front of me!

Finally, I could see its appearance clearly: this was a fierce beast roaring in blazing fire! It had bull horns and tiger claws, and when it opened its mouth, it spewed raging flames at me! The speed was too fast—I didn’t even have a chance to cast spells before rolling embarrassingly on the ground and hitting against rocks!

Seeing how it spewed fire everywhere, it definitely couldn’t be an ordinary fierce beast. That’s right, I was at Bagua Peak! This must be the Blazing Taotie that Master had raised before! Back when we descended to the mortal realm to find Su Lian, it was to feed this creature. But wasn’t it in a deep pit? Why had it escaped on its own?

Taotie was originally one of the ancient fierce beasts like Qiongqi, a naturally man-eating beast. This one breathed fire, personally raised by the Divine Lord Yinze, definitely far different from an ordinary taotie. What was Master thinking, raising such a thing when he was supposed to be a water god?

If only Xuanyue were here—why did I leave it in Suozhao?

Just as I was regretting my carelessness, the Blazing Taotie roared several times and spewed fire at me again. I rolled to the side as it burned a huge hole in an entire mountain. When another ball of flame came, I had retreated to the cliff edge with nowhere to escape. I could only steel myself and push out a Biqing water shield, hoping to neutralize part of the attack.

However, without even a buffer, that ball of fire directly pierced through my immortal technique and exploded on my body! The sound of the blazing flames was too intense, completely covering my screams. My entire body was set on fire, in excruciating pain. I lost my footing and fell toward the bottom of the cliff!

This was good—if I could find a water source in mid-air, I might still find a way to survive… Just as I was thinking this, the Blazing Taotie flew into the air, bit me in its mouth, and carried me back to the peak. Even its teeth seemed made of fire, burning me in terrible pain. No matter how I struggled, it pressed down on my body with its claws and spewed fire at me again and again.

Great—this taotie had refined taste. It didn’t like eating raw meat and insisted on roasting me thoroughly before taking a bite. As for the food, I was in trouble. No matter what spells I cast, they were truly a drop in the bucket against it. As I waved my hands to cast spells, they became increasingly charred. Eventually, I couldn’t lift them and they broke off on the ground.

In the end, I couldn’t even feel my heartbeat. Probably only my brain wasn’t cooked yet, with one thread of consciousness still telling me I was about to die… In the moment before losing consciousness, I only saw a blue light streak across the sky…

“Luowei! Luowei!” My consciousness was hazy, voices seeming to come from the horizon. I couldn’t respond.

“Lingyin, quickly! Quickly heal her wounds!” It seemed to be Master’s voice—I had never heard him so frantic…

“She’s burned to such a state… If she wasn’t a water spirit but an earth spirit or something, there really would be no way to treat her… Hey, you all, quickly support her hands properly… Divine Lord, please hold her steady…” It was Lord Lingyin’s voice, intermittent…

After an unknown amount of time, other voices rang out: “Strange, her body has already returned to normal… why hasn’t she woken up yet…”

“Divine Lord, this is bad. She was injured too severely—her primordial spirit has also been burned. If this continues, she’ll probably be gone within half an hour…” Still other voices.

“Shut up!” Master said angrily.

“Divine Lord, the situation is not good. Of course, it’s not that there’s no way to treat her, but… this… now there’s only this one method left… You all withdraw first.” It was Lord Lingyin.

After a while, Divine Lord Lingyin said, “Divine Lord, don’t worry about whether she’s willing or not. If she wakes up, she should be grateful. In these six realms, you can count on your fingers the people who could save her… Fortunately, she’s a water spirit and shares the same lineage as you. If you weren’t a water god, even with the strongest divine power, it would be hopeless…”

Yinze didn’t reply. Lord Lingyin continued, “What are you still hesitating about? Right now, is life more important than chastity?”

Finally, Yinze said faintly, “For Wei’er, this might be more unbearable than letting her die.”

“Really? I think she’d be more than willing. Didn’t you see how she looked at you with those watery eyes back at the Fahua Cherry Plains? I swear to heaven, if she doesn’t like you, I’ll chop off my head a hundred times and put it in front of you.”

“Then go chop off your head,” Yinze said coldly. “Before she left, she said she would return to my side, but then disappeared for ten years. Forget about having feelings for me—even if there were master-disciple affection, she wouldn’t do such a heartless thing.”

“…How novel. You’ve never let others mention her—is this the reason? You, you,—you couldn’t like her, could you?”

“I don’t.”

“If you don’t like her, then don’t say so much. Fine, even if she doesn’t want to live, do you want her to die?”

“…Forget it. You go out.” After a while, Yinze commanded, “Close the door properly. Don’t let anyone in.”